Lexington Center, an 11-acre downtown complex, is the city's largest convention facility. The center includes Rupp Arena, which can be configured to accommodate seating requirements ranging from 3,500 to 23,000 people. The adjacent Heritage Hall makes available 66,000 square feet of space for exhibits, meetings, performances, or assemblies; as of early 2005, an additional 20,000 square feet of meeting space was temporarily unavailable due to renovations. The Lexington Opera House is also part of the complex and is available for meeting and convention trade in addition to its full schedule of performing arts events. The Radisson Plaza and Hyatt Regency hotels are connected to the center by skywalks. They offer more than 700 guest rooms, and an additional 46,000 square feet of exhibit space adjacent to meeting rooms. Meeting space is available in several unusual and historic settings near downtown, including ArtsPlace, Bell House, and the Bodley-Bullock House. Also connected to the convention center is Triangle Park, with cascading fountains and acres of flowering pear trees. Shopping and a specialty food court are available at the Shops at Lexington Center collection.
Lexington contains more than 6,000 rooms in its 52 hotels and motels. Most of the major chains are represented and offer ballrooms, conference rooms, or meeting rooms. The city prides itself on being able to handle conventions of nearly every size and type.
Convention Information: Lexington Convention and Visitor's Bureau, 301 East Vine Street, Lexington, KY 40507-1513; telephone (800)848-1224 or (859)233-1221